Shingle



April 12, 1933, A. R. BOLLAERT SHINGLE Filed Nov. 30, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l I a; s.

J6 J2 J5 J4 n n r-mm m n n n m n s-f 7 Z Kaela Z32; 4 7602261275 250474672 April 12, 1938. A R. BOLLAERT SH'TNGLE Filed Nov. 30, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims, (Cl. 108-7) The invention relates to improvements in surface covering such as shingles or flooring material and has particular reference to improvements in fabricated strip shingles having a base of felted fibrous material saturated with a water-proof solution of asphalt and surfaced with crushed slate.

or other suitable mineral granules.

The shingle strips as above described are laid in horizontal courses in overlapping relation and the resulting roof is well known for its durability and performance in withstanding the ravages of the weather. However, the shingle is objectionable owing to the fiat and unsubstantial appearance of the roof formed by said shingles. Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide an asphalt or prepared shingle of a thick butt end construction and which will have its minimum thickness at the head lap end. The thick butt shingle of the invention will produce the desired roof will present an appearance of substantial solidity or thickness to materially enhance the attractivenessof the roof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved shingle of thetype cut from finished sheet roofing material which will have a butt end portion of increased thickness, surfaced on one side thereof with mineral granules for exposure to the weather and a head lap portion of the usual thickness for shingles of this kind or even less than this thickness and which will be surfaced with mica, clay or other material that will comprise an adequate covering for the underlapped end of the shingle.

A further object of the invention is to improve surface coverings of the type having a felted fibrous base to increase the insulating qualities'of said material, to make said material more durable to thereby increase the life of the same, and to provide a product which will be better adapted for roofs of buildings, homes and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shingle of the character described which will have a relatively thick butt end portion by reason of greater asphalt saturation of this end as compared with the head lap portion. The increase in the asphalt saturation together with the mineral surfacing has the desirable effect of weighting the butt end to effectively counteract tendencies to curl and the action of the wind in lifting. the shingles.

With these and various other objects in view, the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation as will be 55 more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawings and claims appended hereto.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention and wherein like reference characters designate like partsshadow lines when laid on a roof and thus the Figure 1 is a plan view of a strip shingle embodying the features of the invention;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the butt end of the shingle;

Figure 3 is an elevational view looking toward one side of the shingle and showing the relatively thick butt end portion;

Figure 4 is a plan'view of the underside'of the strip shingle illustrating one method of opening the felted base to increase the asphalt saturation thereof;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a strip shingle having square tabs and constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure '6 is an end view of the shingle shown in Figure 5 illustrating the diiference in thickness between the butt and head lap portion thereof;

Figure 7 is an elevational view of the butt end of the shingle of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a plan view of a strip shingle having hexagonal tabs and embodying features of the invention;

a Figure 9 is an end view of the shingle of Figure and Figure 10 is a plan view of a strip shingle similar to that of Figure 8 but surfaced entirely with mineral granules.

' Referring to the drawings, the roofing unit selected for illustrating the invention preferably consists of a strip shingle indicated generally by numeral I0 and comprising a felted base I! formed from rag, asbestos and the like that has been saturated and coated with asphalt and partly surfaced with mineral granules l4 and partly by mica l6 as will be more particularly described. Although the improvement of the invention can be applied to strip shingles having square or hexagonal shaped tabs, the shingle Ill disclosed in the drawings is of the tabless type and accordingly the invention proposes to corrugate the thick butt portion of the shingle on the exposed or mineral surfaced face thereof as at I 8 to simulate individual shingles. The corrugations fulfill the functions of the cut-out portions in the tab shingles in providing for expansion and contraction but eliminate the objectionable features of cut-outs in that they tend to weaken the shingle. It is not necessary to space the corrugations at the same point from the end of the shingle but the strip should be so constructed as to give thr e or four corrugations for each thirty-six inch length which is approximately the length of the average strip shingle of the character referred to.

The roof formed from the shingles of the invention gives the appearance of substantial thickness by reason of the thick butt end construction which produces decided shadow lines on the roof, particularly when the sun is shining on the same. When viewed from a distance the thick butt ends of the shingles present lines of considerable depth and this enhances the attractiveness of the roof. For a shingle of approximately twelve inches in width the portion 20 of increased thickness will extend from the butt end for a distance of approximately seven inches and for the remaining distance, namely, five inches, the shingle will have its minimum thickness, which may be the usual thickness for shingles of this kind or even less than said thickness.

The thick portion of the present shingle is preferably surfaced with comminuted minerals such as crushed slate, crushed porcelain, tile or natural stone of various kinds in order to adequately protect this exposed portion against the action of the elements and also to impart an attractive appearance to the roof formed from said shingles. However, it is not deemed necessary to surface the head lap 22 with mineral granules but a'covering of mica I6 or clay is believed adequate since this end of the shingle is completely overlapped at all times by the butt end of the next horizontal course of shingles.

The variations in thickness between the butt end and the head lap end of the present shingle may be produced'by several methods and it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the methods described which are to be considered merely as illustrative. When a very hard and stiff felted sheet is selected for the base of the shingle, that is 150-160 K. T. sheet or described in other words a sheet capable of an asphalt saturation of 150-160 per cent, the shingle strip or sheetwhich passes through the machine as a continuous Web is indented by rolls containing alternate projections and depressions along that portion of the web which will eventually form the butt end of the shingle. The sheet may be perforated as well as indented, the object being to open up the fibrous base of the sheet so that the same will absorb more asphalt without appreciably reducing the tensile strength of the felt. Following the indenting or perforating operation of the continuous web the same is saturated with asphalt and as a result of the indenting operation on the sheet as above described, the base thereof is sufliciently opened up so as to take approximately 190-200 per cent saturation. The shingle strip or web after saturation is preferably passed over rolls in order to dry the web and the same is then coated on one face thereof or at least on the indented or perforated portion of said face with a high melting point asphalt, and following this operatifii the coated surface is covered with mineral granules. The sheet is then cut into shingle lengths and as shown in Figure 4 said shingles consist of a head lap portion 22 capable of taking approximately 150 per cent of saturation, whereas, the lower exposed portion or butt end of the shingle strip will have a saturation of 190 to 200 per cent. As a result of the indenting operation both surfaces of the shingle strip have a portion thereof formed into a plurality of raised areas 24 separated by depressions 26.

Another method of producing shingles having portions of varying thickness in accordance with the invention resides in using a relatively soft base for the shingle in contrast to the hard and stiff felted sheet used in the method above described. It is thus possible to start out with 190-200 K. T. sheet and calendar a portion of the continuous web down to 150-160 K. T. This is accomplished by passing the web through rolls which reduce the thickness thereof for the desired, width such as will comprise the head lap portion of the shingle, thus forming said portion into a hard and stiff felted sheet. The strip shingle produced by this method is substantially the same as that resulting from the method of that above described since the lower exposed portion will be capable of 190-200 per cent saturation, whereas, the calendared head lap strip will be reduced to 150-160 per cent saturation.

As previously stated, following the operation of indenting, perforating or calendaring, as the case may be, and saturating the sheet, the sheet is thereupon coated on both faces with a layer of relatively high melting point oxidized asphalt which is particularly suited for weather-proofing the material and preventing access of moisture to the fibers of the saturated base. Mineral granules are then applied to that portion of the web having the greatest thickness and which will eventually form the thick butt end portion of the shingle. In contrast to the layer of mineral granules over this portion of the web the remainder thereof is surfaced with mica flakes or clay and accordingly the completed shingle will have a grit surfacing of mineral granules over the exposed butt portion and a surfacing of mica flakes or clay on the head lap portion.

The present shingle will very efliciently fulfill all requirements of service and will have the further desirable advantage over fabricated strip shingles as heretofore manufactured in that the shingle will weigh approximately thirty pounds less per square. The reduced weight of the present shingle results from the reduction in area that is grit surfaced with mineral granules and from the fact that the shingle as a whole contains less asphalt. However, its durability will be above the average and its resistance to fire and other characteristics will be likewise entirely satisfactory. Also the production cost of the present shingle will compare favorably with the cost ofmanufacturing the usual fabricated strip shingle since the manufacturing steps in forming the felted base for selective saturation are relatively simple and do not present any difliculty. I

The shingle of the invention may be produced having a plurality of tabs on the exposed butt end thereof, as shown in Figures 5 and 8. Referring particularly to Figure 5, the shingle indicated by numeral 30 will consist of a felted fibrous base that has been selectively saturated as described and coated with mineral granules 34 on the tab portion thereof and mica flakes 36 on the head lap portion. As a resul of the openings 38 the butt end portion of the shingle is formed into a plurality of tabs 40 which are considerably thicker throughout their extent than the head lap portion 42 of the shingle. The variations in thickness between the butt end and the head lap end of the shingle of Figure 5 is produced by the several methods previously described, namely, by indenting or perforating a 150-160 K. T. sheet so as to separate thefibers and in effect open up the sheet to materially increase its saturation, or by starting with a relatively soft sheet and calendaring the portion thereof which will ultimately form the head lap of the finished shingle.

The shingle of Figure 8, identified by numeral 50 is likewise produced according to the present invention so as to result in a thick butt portion saturated with asphalt to approximately 190-200 per cent and a relatively thin head lap portion wherein the asphalt saturation will average approximately 150-160 per cent. The thick butt portion of this shingle is likewise surfaced with mineral granules 54, whereas, the head lap portion is surfaced with mica flakes 56. The tabs 60 I formed by portions cut from the butt end of the onal shape and is further similar to the shingle shown in Figure'8 in that the head lap portion is relatively thin compared to the thick butt portion. The shingle is produced in accordance with the invention by selectively saturating the felted fibrous base of the shingle. When the shingles of Figure 8 are laid on a roof in overlapping relation a considerable area of the head lap portion of each shingle is exposed and accordingly the mica flakes surfacing the exposed head lap portion will be called upon to withstand the ravages of the weather. While this mica surfacing will provide a satisfactory covering for shingles of this character in some instances, it may be desirable to substitute for the mica surfacing a covering of granules and therefore the hexagonal strip shingle of Figure 10 is shown as having mineral granules on the entire upper surface thereof. In order to carry out the tapering shingle effect of the invention large mineral granules 14 may be used to surface the butt portion of the shingle while relatively fine mineral granules 16 are applied to the head lap portion.

The invention is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawings, as various other forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

-What is claimed is:

1. A strip shingle comprising a base of felted sheet material and having a relatively thick butt portion compared to its head lap portion, said butt portion containing a greater quantity of water-proofing compound per unit of area than the head lap portion thereby increasing the thickness of the butt portion as a result of the greater saturation thereof, a coating of heavy comminuted material covering the entire surface of the butt portion on the top face of the shingle, and a coating of light comminuted material covering the top face of the head lap portion.

2. Astrip shingle comprising a base of felted fibrous material saturated with asphalt and having a butt portion and a head lap portion of different width, said base containing a greater amount of asphalt perunit area in the butt portion than in the head lap portion whereby said butt portion is materially thicker as a result of the greater asphalt saturation thereof, and a coating of mineral granules covering the surface of the butt portion only on the top face of the shingle.

3. A strip shingle comprising a base of felted fibrous material saturated with asphalt and having a butt portionand a head lap portion of different width, said butt portion containing a greater amount of asphalt per unit area than the head lap portionwhereby said butt portion is materially thicker as a result of the greater asphalt saturation thereof, a coating of mineral granules covering the entire surface of the butt portion on the top face of the shingle, and a coating of mica flakes covering the top face of the head lap portion.

4. A strip shingle'comprlsing a base of felted fibrous material having a butt portion and ahead lap portion of different widths, the butt portion of said shingle containing a waterproofing composition from 190% to 200% of saturation, and the head lap portion containing a water-proofing composition from to of saturation, whereby said butt portion is materially thicker than the head lap portion, and a coating of mineral granules covering the surface of the butt portion only on the top face of the shingle.

5. A strip shing'lecomprising a base of felted fibrous material having a butt portion extending for at least one-half of the width of'the strip shingle, the butt portion of said shingle containing asphalt from to 200% of saturation, and the head lap portion containing asphalt from 150% to 160% of saturation, whereby said butt portion is materially thicker than the head lap portion, a coating of mineral granules covering the entire surface of the butt portion on thetop face of the shingle, and a coating of mica flakes .covering the top face of the head lap portion.

6. The method of producing a shingle of varying thickness from a relatively hard and stiff felted fibrous sheet which comprises indenting a portion of said sheet while in the form of a continuous web, thereby opening the fibrous base thereof to increase the asphalt saturation, immersing said sheet in a low melting point asphalt to saturate the same, surfacing the entire area of the indented portion on one face of the sheet with mineral granules, and,finally cutting the sheet into shingles.

7. The method of producing a shingle of varying thickness from a relatively hard and stiff felted fibrous sheet which comprises indenting a portion of said sheet while in the form of a continuous web by passing the same through indenting rolls to open up the felted fibrous base of said portion in order to increase the asphalt sat-. uration thereof, immersing said sheet in a low melting point asphalt to thoroughly saturate the same, coating one face of said saturated sheet with an oxidized asphalt, surfacing the entire area of the indented portion on one face of the sheet with mineral granules, and finally cutting the sheet into shingles.

- 8. A method of producing a strip shingle of varying thickness fromv a relatively soft felted fibrous sheet which consists in calendaring a portion of the sheet while in the form of a continuous 'web to reduce the thickness of said portion, whereby the remainder of the sheet will be materially thicker, immersing the entire sheet in asphalt to saturate the same, surfacing the thick portion of the sheet on one face with mineral granules, and finally cutting the sheet to form shingles.

9. A method of producing shingles of varying thickness from a relatively soft felted fibrous sheet which comprises passing a portion of said sheet through calendaring rolls to reduce the thickness thereof and form said portion into a hard and stiff felted sheet, whereby the remaining portion will be materially thicker and will be capable of an asphalt saturation to a greater degree, immersing said sheet in a low melting point asphalt to saturate the same, coating the thick portion of the sheet on' one face with a high melting point asphalt, surfacing the entire area of said coated portion with mineral granules, and finally. cutting the sheet into individual shingles.

ARMAND R. BOLLAERT. 

